Numerous types of wireless communication devices are used throughout the world each day, including devices such as cellular phones, pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and vehicle communication devices. Many of these devices use one or more types of communication channels, including voice and data channels, to provide a variety of services over wireless networks. Some devices utilize data encoding techniques to communicate both voice and data information over a voice channel, while other devices must use a data channel to send data information. In certain instances, the use of a dedicated data channel to send and receive data information can result in enhanced data services such as additional bandwidth, error detection, and inter-operability with other devices.
The operational status of wireless communication devices is oftentimes changing. For example, when a wireless communication device is turned on, it typically registers with the local wireless carrier system whose boundaries it is located within. Similarly, in order for a wireless communications device to engage in voice and/or data communications, it must be authenticated by the wireless carrier system that it wishes to use. The registration and authentication status of the wireless communications device are but two possible pieces of status information that can affect the overall operational status of the device, as other types of status information can also impact the operational status. In some situations, such as when making a mobile-terminated data connection, it can be helpful for a contacting entity to know the operational status of the wireless communications device that it is trying to contact.